Modified Dave Elman Induction

This version copyright Donald Robertson 2000-2009. All rights reserved. www.UK
hypnosis.com
This method of inducing hypnotic trance was developed by the famous US hypnotist
Dave Elman. It has gained popularity with modern hypnotherapists because of its
ability to induce hypnosis, and test for responsiveness, extremely quickly and
reliably. The method generally consists of the following stages, interspersed wi
th direct suggestions of deepening relaxation:
1.
2.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Deep breath and eye closure.

Arm heaviness test (dropping arm to test for loss of muscle tension).
Eye catalepsy test (suggestion that subject is unable to open eyes).
"Fractionation" of trance by repeated eye closure.
"Losing the numbers", deepener for mental relaxation and test for amnesia.
"Elevator deepener" (optional).

Although this tends to be called the "Elman Induction" it's actually a series of
tests and deepeners which Elman seems to have normally used following an eye-fi
xation induction, or after simply asking the subject to close their eyes.
Elman's Own Transcript
This is an excerpt from Elman's Hypnotherapy (1964) which gives his famous induc
tion technique verbatim, in his own words,
Rapid Induction
Will you just take a good long deep breath and close your eyes. Now relax the mus
cles around your eyes to the point where those eye muscles won t work and when you r
e sure they won t work, test them and make sure they won t work [Subject opens their
eyes.] No, you re making sure they will work. Relax them to the point where they w
ill not work and when you re sure they won t work, test them. Test them hard. Get co
mplete relaxation in those muscles around the eyes [Client now exhibits eyelid ca
talepsy.] Now let that feeling of relaxation go right down to your toes In just a
moment we re going to do this again and when we do it the second time you re going
to be able to relax ten times as much as you re relaxed already.
Now open your eyes. Close your eyes. Completely relax -let yourself be covered wi
th a blanket of relaxation. Now the third time we do it you ll be able to double t
he relaxation which you have. Open your eyes -now relax. I m now going to lift you
r hand and drop it and if you ve followed orders up to this point that hand will b
e just as limp as a dishrag and will just plop into your lap No, let me lift it don t you lift it- let it be heavy -that s good- but let s open and close the eyes aga
in and double that relaxation and send it right down to your toes. Let that hand
be as heavy as lead You ll feel it when you ve got the real relaxation Now you ve got i
t. You could feel that, couldn t you? (Patient: Yes.)
Deepening
That s complete physical relaxation, but I want to show you how you can get mental
relaxation as well as physical, so I m going to ask you to start counting -when I
tell you to- from a hundred backwards. Each time you say a number, double your r
elaxation, and by the time you get down to ninety-eight you ll be so relaxed there
won t be any more numbers Start with the idea of making that happen and watch it h
appen. Count out loud please. (Patient: One hundred.) Double your relaxation and
watch the numbers start disappearing. (Ninety-nine.) Watch the numbers start di
sappearing. (Ninety-eight.) Now they ll be gone Make it happen. You ve got to do it,
I can t do it. Make them disappear, dispel them, make them vanish. Are they all go
ne? [The subject says yes but on questioning and testing Elman finds that he is si
mply too darn tired to continue.]
So make those numbers completely disappear Banish them Are they gone? (No.) Make th
em disappear. I m going to lift your hand and drop it, and when I do, the rest of

those numbers will drop out. Want them to drop out and watch them go
(Elman, Hypnotherapy, 1964: 60-65)
Elman Induction Script (Adapted)

Gone? (Yes.)

Just begin by making yourself comfortable. Rest your feet flat on the floor and
rest your hands on your lap, or by your side.
Now drop your head forward slightly and roll your eyes up and back as though you
were looking toward a point in your forehead. That's a bit of a strain but keep
it up. Now, inhale deeply, filling your lungs all the way up as you continue to
look up and back. Pause for a few seconds. Now keep looking up and allow your e
yelids to grow heavy and close down... as you exhale slowly and patiently. Good,
now send a huge wave of relaxation from the top of your head down to the tip of
your toes. Let all of your muscles turn loose, and limp and wonderfully relaxed
... just like a rag doll.
Now, rest your awareness on those eyelids once again. Even though the eyelids ar
e closed down comfortably already, imagine they are closing down all over again,
even more heavy and tired and lazy than before. Now relax those eyelids right d
own to the point where it feels as if they just don't work anymore. When you kno
w you've done that, make a test and find you've succeeded and they feel as if th
ey're sealing shut. Push harder against that relaxation and find the harder you
try to make the effort the more lazy and tired and relaxed those eyelids are bec
oming right now. Now stop trying, send a wave of relaxation right down into that
part of you that was trying to make the effort. You're eyelids aren't really se
aled shut, it just feels as if they are. That's a good sign, you're relaxing ver
y deeply.
Now, I'm going to help you to relax even more deeply, and those is how I'm going
to do it. In a moment I'll count 1, 2, 3, when I reach the number three you can
open your eyes for a second before I gesture and say the word "sleep." When I s
ay the word "sleep", just allow your eyelids to close down and find you're going
back, even deeper into hypnosis than before. Beginning now, 1, 2, 3... opening
those eyelids, ready now, "sleep", relaxing much deeper than before, two times d
eeper... Good... Once again, 1, 2, 3, opening those eyelids, ready now, "sleep",
relaxing much deeper than before, two times deeper... Good... One more time now
, 1, 2, 3, opening those eyelids, ready now, "sleep", relaxing much deeper than
before, two times deeper again... Good.
Now you're relaxing the body very deeply, and as you relax the body you're relax
ing the mind. Now, I'm going to help you to relax the mind even more deeply and
this is how I'm going to do it. In a moment I want you to begin counting down ba
ckwards from 100, counting out loud, and repeating the words "deeper and deeper"
after each number. Each time you say the words "deeper and deeper", you're doub
ling the relaxation of your mind, especially the counting part of your mind. By
the time you've counted just a few of those numbers, to 95 or even 96, you'll fi
nd you've succeeded in relaxing your mind so deeply that you just can't be bothe
red even trying to locate those numbers, they've vanished completely, forgotten
from your mind. Start counting now, losing the numbers to relaxation as you coun
t, beginning now...
[Intersperse suggestions of deepening until subject stops counting.]
That's it. Good. Now relax even more deeply, and as you do so make an effort and
try to locate those forgotten numbers and find that you've succeeded, they've f
aded completely from the mind. Haven't you?
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